Return of the Han, Prosperity, and Influence by Eunuchs

In the five years following the death of Wang Mang, millions died fighting
as rival factions vied with each other for power. The most successful of the
rival factions was led by a member of the Han family, a prince by the name of Liu Xiu. He surrounded himself with
educated men, and he was popular among his troops. His army was the only force
that did not loot when capturing towns, and this helped him win hearts and minds.
Liu Xiu took control of the ruined capital, Chang'an. He proclaimed himself
emperor, restoring the Han dynasty – to be known as the Later Han, or East Han. He moved the capital eastward to Luoyang, and for eleven more years he had to combat rivals. He absorbed
some bands of Red Eyebrow rebels into his army, and his army killed other Red
Eyebrows in great numbers.

What had not been accomplished by reforms was accomplished by violence:
so many had died in the upheaval that land had become available to anyone who
wanted it, and with many money lenders among the dead, many more peasants had
become free of debt. Liu Xiu helped the economy by lowering taxes, as much as
he thought possible: to a tenth or thirteenth of one's harvest or profits.
During his reign of thirty-two years, he attempted improvements by promoting
scholarship and by curtailing the influence of eunuchs and some others around
the royal family. He defended China's western and northern borders by launching
successful military campaigns on these frontiers, pushing back the Xiongnu,
enabling him to take control of Xinjiang (the extreme
northwest of modern China). Also, he tightened China's grip on the area around
the Liao River and northern Korea, and he was able to expand control over all that had been
China. The restored Han dynasty appeared to have won back the Mandate of
Heaven.

In 57 CE, Liu Xiu died. He took the posthumous title of Guangwu-di (di, as mentioned before, signifying emperor), and he was
succeeded by his son Mingdi, who reigned eighteen years while China's economy
continued to recover. Emperor Ming's rule has been regarded as harsh. He associated
himself with Taoism and theological Confucianism, and he declared himself a
prophet. He supported growth in what was considered education, and he lectured
on history at Luoyang's new imperial university – a lecture attended by many
thousands.

Emperor Ming was succeeded by Emperor Zhang, who ruled from the year 75 to
88. He was succeeded by Emperor He, who ruled from 88 to 106.
Despite Hedi's mediocrity, China
continued to enjoy a rising prosperity. The university at
Luoyang grew to 240 buildings and 30,000 students. China's
trade reached a new height. Silk from China was becoming
familiar to people as far as the Roman Empire – which was
then in its so-called golden age. And in return, China was
receiving glass, jade, horses, precious stones, tortoise
shell and fabrics.

With prosperity came another attempt at expansion
westward. A commander of a Chinese army, Ban Chao, led
an army of 60,000 unopposed to the eastern
shores of the Caspian Sea. He wished to send an envoy to make
contact with the Romans. But the Parthians feared an
alliance between Rome and China. They discouraged
Ban Chao with tales of danger, so he turned back.

By the second century, China had caught up with and in some areas had surpassed
Europe and West Asia in science and technology. Paper was
coming into use in China. China had a water clock with
an accuracy that Europeans would be without for more than
a thousand years. China had a lunar calendar that would
be consulted into the twentieth century. It had a seismograph
that was invented in the year 132 – eight feet wide and
made of bronze. The Chinese observed sun spots, which would
not be observed by Europeans until Galileo in 1612. The Chinese charted 11,520 stars and measured the elliptical
orbit of the moon. China had a machine that sowed seeds
and a machine for husking grain. It had water pumps. And,
unlike the Romans, the Chinese had wheelbarrows.
The Chinese had horse collars and by 322 at least a few had saddles with stirrups. They were improving
their use of herbal medicines and learning more about human
anatomy and the diagnosis of physical disorders. They were
using minor surgery and acupuncture, and they were aware
of the benefits of a good diet.

But life continued to be hard for China's common people – its peasants. Too
much was still being taken from them in taxes. They still had to labor once
a month for the emperor. Punishments were still harsh. For the sake of order a poor peasant could
be executed for using the central part of a highway, which was reserved for
the emperor. And not enough grain was being stored for emergencies.

China's prosperity had risen under Emperor He (reign 88-106),
and the court of Emperor He had become in size and luxury equal to the courts of previous
Han emperors. At He's court, hundreds of wives and concubines were accompanied
by a great many eunuchs to guard them. Under Emperor He, eunuchs and family consorts
had acquired greater influence, with eunuchs having the ear of the emperor.

Those involved in choosing who was to be a successor to the throne preferred
children because children could be dominated more than an adult, leaving considerable
power with those who did the choosing. All Han emperors since Emperor Ming (reign 58-75) had become
emperors when adolescents, two of them as young as two, and most had begun their
rule with their dowager empress mother serving as regent. These women remained
isolated and dependent upon men – usually their male relatives. As an emperor
grew into adulthood, if he rejected his mother's relatives as advisors he usually
turned to the only other males with which he had contact – the eunuchs – and
he appointed them to high positions as a counter to his mother's influence.

With succeeding child emperors and powerful eunichs more trouble was on the way.